SOCCER PREMIER LEAGUE ARTICLES

Paul Pogba’s status continues to cast a cloud over Manchester United. Pogba is the most talented player on the team, but he has been at odds with manager Jose Mourinho for some time. Although Pogba was Mourinho’s prize acquisition when he first joined the club, the two have verbally sparred in the media, and Pogba has taken exception to some of Mourinho’s comments. Pogba reportedly wants out, and that would leave a mammoth hole in United’s line-up. He won’t leave Old Trafford prior to the Red Devils match against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday, but he might be on his way out shortly afterwards. ... 

Liverpool are sitting at the top of the table after the first week of matches during the Premier League season. The Reds hammered West Ham in their first match, and that has them off to a great start in terms of goal differential. In Monday night’s primetime game, Liverpool will take on a Crystal Palace side that also picked up a win in their first match. Each club would love to pick up another three points here. ... 

This week, Manchester City are one of the biggest favorites we have seen in the Premier League in quite some time. The Citizens are over 1/11 to knock off Huddersfield Town at home, with oddsmakers giving the Terriers a nearly 1 in 30 chance of pulling off the upset. Huddersfield will look to prove the books wrong, and potentially make their fans a nice bit of quid, this Sunday. It would certainly be a contender for upset of the season if it were to happen. ... 

Cardiff City and Newcastle United will both be looking to get off the mat when these teams meet in the first game of the second week of Premier League action this Saturday. Each team started its season with a loss, but not all losses are created equal. While Cardiff City were blanked on the road by Bournemouth, Newcastle looked lively in a loss to Tottenham Hotspur. ... 

The Premier League is back, and after a thrilling first week, we are set to have our first London Derby of the season in Saturday’s primetime match. Arsenal and Chelsea have had a pretty fierce rivalry over the last decade, but there will be a new face on the sidelines for each team. Unai Emery will be looking to pick up a win that would immediately endear him to Gunners supporters, while Maurizio Sarri is aiming to keep Blues fans and Roman Abramovich content with three points here. ... 

The premier match of the Premier League’s opening weekend is the last one on the slate. Manchester City set all sorts of records in their romp through the table last season. The Citizens became the first team ever to finish with 100 points, and they crushed the record for goals in a season, goal differential, and point differential too. This year, City will look to repeat, and their first test will be on the road against a revamped Arsenal squad. ... 

For the first time in seven seasons, the Wolverhampton Wanderers are back in the Premier League. This will be Wolverhampton’s fifth season in the Premier League altogether, and the club is looking to make this promotion stick for a while. Wolves were down in the third division of English football just a few years ago, but they dominated the Championship last year in order to earn promotion. They open this campaign at home against an Everton team that is aiming to stop a slow decline. ... 

Last season was a very successful one for both Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United. Tottenham finished in the top three of the Premier League table for the third straight season, and the club was able to best Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in order to make it to the knockout rounds of the Champions League for the first time in seven years. As for Newcastle United, the Magpies were able to comfortably finish in the middle of the table after being promoted from Championship the season before. ... 

The 2018-19 Premier League campaign will kick off on Friday when Manchester United host Leicester City. Oddly enough, although Manchester United have more league titles than any other club in England, they are not the most recent team to win a title in this meeting. Leicester City’s players and fans are still holding on to the memory of the club’s first and only league title three seasons ago, even if many of the players responsible for winning it are no longer there. ... 

The second week of August will herald the start of the 2018-19 Premier League campaign, and 19 other clubs will be gunning to take down Manchester City. The EPL has been more wide open than any of the other major European leagues since its foundation, and that gives hope to some of the smaller clubs. Teams like Leicester City and Blackburn have won the Premier League in recent memory, and no team has been able to repeat as champions over the last nine years. ... 

Just in case you’ve ever wondered how important soccer is in England, consider the decision that Prince William is torn up over according to reports. The FA Cup Final and Prince Harry’s Royal Wedding are both slated to take place this Saturday, yet William is seriously considering missing out on the afterparty in order to catch Chelsea and Manchester United squaring off a little over 20 miles away. That is perhaps the best example of how important the FA Cup is to the English. ... 

After 22 years at the helm of Arsenal, Arsene Wenger will call it quits after this game. Wenger has had a great run. He is the longest-tenured manager in the Premier League by a wide margin, and he has had a ton of success. ... 

Although neither Chelsea nor Liverpool will be able to win the Premier League, both clubs still have a chance to win some hardware this season. In a couple weeks, Chelsea will be squaring off against Manchester United for glory in the FA Cup. Chelsea is a slight underdog in that match, but many will be picking them to win. ... 

Two rivals will square off in Premier League action on Sunday when Manchester United hosts Arsenal. Unfortunately, this match will not have the luster it usually does as there isn’t too much on the line this time around. ... 

If Chelsea has any hope of making it back to the Champions League, they need to win their last four games. The Blues currently sit five points back of Tottenham for England’s last Champions League spot, and anything other than victories the rest of the way would probably kill their chance of finishing fourth in the table. ... 

And then there were four. This weekend will determine which teams will play in the FA Cup Final on May 19. The first of the two semifinals will pit Manchester United against Tottenham. Those have been two of the top teams in England all year and both clubs look set to qualify for Champions League next year with a top four finish in the Premier League. ... 

In early March, it looked like Newcastle United might be fighting for its spot in the Premier League by the end of the season. The Magpies had just lost to Liverpool 2-0 and were sitting on 29 points through 29 games. The club was looking not to go right back down to Championship after being one of the three to come up this year and their play over the last month showed it. Newcastle has won four straight matches and are now in the top half of the table and out of the relegation battle. The Magpies will look to make it five straight and potentially jump up to eighth with three points on the road aganst Everton on Monday. ... 

If West Brom has any hope of pulling itself out of regulation, it absolutely must win its match against Manchester United this Sunday. West Brom is currently in dead last in the Premier League, and is 10 points away from safety with five games to play. The Baggies’ task is already next to impossible, but a loss would essentially seal their fate and see them in Championship next year. ... 

It’s been a rough week for Manchester City. The Citizens could have clinched the Premier League last week at home against Manchester United and had a proper celebration. City jumped out to a 2-0 lead 30 minutes in and it looked like the supporters could start to celebrate an EPL title. ... 

The Merseyside Derby is always one to watch. Everton and Liverpool have one of the most intense, passionate rivalries in the Premier League and both clubs would love to get a win over their rival in this one. For Everton, there are no real stakes at play except to play spoiler. The Toffees look set to finish in the top half of the table once again, but any hope for Europe is out of the question. ... 

This Saturday, Manchester City can officially claim the Premier League title. City is 16 points up on arch rival Manchester United with seven matches to play and faces off against United over the weekend. It’s been a fantastic season for City. The club set a record for most consecutive wins in the Premier League and might still become the team with the most points ever over the course of the season. ... 

The battle to see which teams will round out the top four wages on in the Premier League with a crucial match between fourth-place Tottenham Hotspur and fifth-place Chelsea on Sunday. Tottenham currently sits five points ahead of Chelsea in the standings, but a Chelsea win would narrow the gap to two and make things very interesting with seven games left in the season for both sides. A Tottenham win or draw would go a long way to sealing Chelsea’s fate, making it tough for the Blues to crack the top four and gain entrance to the Champions League. ... 

Manchester City has essentially clinched the Premier League title at this point, but the race is on to make history. Not many champions have finished with more than 100 points in domestic play, but City is on pace to do that with 81 points through 30 games. They have been absolutely dominant all season long and are accordingly a big road favorite against a decent Everton side. ... 

It will be a battle of the haves and the have nots in the late game on Saturday, when Crystal Palace squares off with Chelsea.... 

Although both Liverpool and Manchester United are still alive in the Champions League, both clubs want to ensure that they will take part in the tournament next season....